The day came again, as it did every year. Carl stood at the foot of the grave and, flowers in hand, knelt. It was a cold gray morning, dew still sparkled on the blades of grass in the delicate sunlight. The cemetery was a foreboding place, fog still resided in the trees, creating ominous blurry shadows. A stiff breeze rustled Carl’s hair, and he drew it back from his face. He was silent and stoic, placing the flowers against a glorified polished rock. For hours he would sit here, every year. The same black suit, the same messy hair and scruffy face. I’ve really broken down, haven’t I? Carl thought as he rose from the grass. The beaten dirt path led the way back to the entrance. Birds chirped from the above, the autumn trees were a swath of color throughout the gray and solemn graveyard. The moist ground was spongy and littered with leaves, the smell of pine and soil refreshing compared to his stuffy office. A cat sat on the wall surrounding the cemetery and ran away as the rusty metal entrance creaked and moaned when he opened it. Only when he was in his car did he start crying.

            It had happened in the middle of fall, four years ago, September 28. She was found at the base of a cliff, broken, bleeding and quite dead. It was a shock, to everyone, and Carl was left alone. He had divorced long before that, and his former wife had moved with her family all the way across the country. Didn’t even show up for the funeral. Carl thought with disdain. Mollie Colin, a 16 year old girls who had loved books and riding her bike around the neighborhood. She was always curious and loved to bake in the house. He was certain her death wasn’t of her own accord. She had never shown any signs of mental or physical health problems, he went through her belongings and there was no indication that she felt . . . that way . . . about herself. The cliff she had fallen from was to the side of a road that wasn’t on surveillance or traffic cameras.

            Carl finally calmed down and took a deep breath before backing out of the small parking lot and decided to go home. The drive would be about 20 minutes from the cemetery, so he stopped by a small coffee shop on the way. Mollie always got a muffin with a hot chocolate when she was little. Again, he burst into tears. This time he was on the road. With his vision a blurry mess, he didn’t see the car in front of him switch lanes. The cars spun out as they collided. Just as Carl was wiping his tears and trying to comprehend what had happened, he looked up to stare directly into the headlights of a massive truck.

            Carl woke up with a shout. He felt numb. He touched his face; it was slick with sweat and felt . . . smooth? With wide eyes he looked about the room, the blankets and pillows had been thrown to the floor. The clock on his bedside table read 11:48. He was back in the family home, not the small apartment he had moved into to save money. Carl rushed to the bathroom and looked at his reflection. His eyes were no longer wet and red from crying, his face clean and shaved, and his hair was short and neatly cut despite his bedhead. Suddenly from below he heard a shout.

            “Hey dad, you okay?” Carl almost collapsed in grief, Mollie’s voice was the same as he had remembered it. He scrambled back to his beside table to grab his phone. Today was, Saturday, September 28, 2016. Dread weighed down on Carl as he saw the date. Is this a dream, a lucid dream? “Hello? You okay up there? I heard some thumping and yelling.” Mollie’s footsteps came up the stairs and she knocked on the door.

            “Yeah I’m alright, I tripped on the cords again,” unreflective of how he felt, his voice felt clear and strong, unbroken.

“Oh alright. I’m late, but I’m gonna be going to my volleyball match, I’m picking up Carla,” Mollie responded. “I’ll see you later today!”

“Okay! I might come and watch the game.” Carl haphazardly showered, got dressed, and rushed out the door. He got in their second car and drove off, following Mollie to her school gym. The game flew by, the clock ticking closer to what he knew was to come. Carl started to think of a way to try to save Mollie. How he was stuck in this predicament? He didn’t know, only that he was dreaming of the day of Mollie’s death after he had been hit by the truck, but couldn’t wake up or seemingly control the dream, even though he was aware of it. His only choice was to follow her until something happened, and then he would find out what was going on and if this was a replay of the day of Mollie’s death.

Mollie’s game was over, and she walked back over to her car to leave. Carl followed and drove behind her. Her day seemed normal, she went home to shower and clean, then she went out with her friends to a coffee shop about 30 minutes away.

By this time, it was about 6 in the afternoon. Carl’s anxiety was rising. She came out from the shop, a muffin bag in hand and sat down in her car. 6:53. He again, followed her. She started to drive on the path home, but took a wrong turn, Carl looked down the street, it was closed off for construction. Dread fell over him like a wave, and he took the turn that Mollie had. Another problem arose, the easiest way back to the house, was the road that she had fallen from and died. He sped up to get to Mollie again, he saw her and observed the cars, but she passed through the next intersection without incident. What? Carl was perplexed at the event dumbfounded he lost control of the wheel and slammed into the side railing, leaping off the edge and into the ravine below.

Carl woke up with a shout, he felt numb. He touched his face; it was slick with sweat and felt smooth? With wide eyes he looked about the room, the blankets and pillows had been thrown to the floor. The clock on his bedside table read 11:48. He was back in the family home, not at the bottom of a ravine. Carl rushed to the bathroom and looked at his reflection. Not a dream? Have I been given a second chance to save Mollie? The same as before, suddenly from below he heard a shout.

            “Hey dad, you okay?”

Carl almost collapsed in surprise. What was going on? He scrambled back to his bedside table to grab his phone. Today was, Saturday, September 28, 2016. This isn’t a dream! I’ve somehow been traveling back in time to the morning of Mollie’s death! And it seems that his intervention, however small, had caused the event, to change, and not end in Mollie’s death, whatever the event might have been. “Hello? You okay up there? I heard some thumping and yelling.” Mollie’s footsteps came up the stairs and she knocked on the door.

            “Yeah I’m alright, I tripped on the cords, . . . again,” Carl answered, remembering the same conversation before.

“Oh alright. I’m late, but I’m gonna be going to my volleyball match, I’m picking up Carla.” Mollie responded, “I’ll see you later today!”

“Okay! I might come and  . . . watch the game.” Carl sat back and thought about the last time he had jumped back to this morning. She didn’t die then, because of something different I did that changed the events, I did something that changed the outcome. I can change it again. Carl got up from his seat on the bed, confident that he could save her again. He took his time in the shower and eating his breakfast, he then stepped into the car. 12:27. He got into the car and went to get gas but struggled with the transaction as his debit card wouldn’t go through. 12:42. He got a small meal at Starbucks, a large coffee and a sandwich. 1:36. Looking up at the small TV screen in the corner, he saw the headline.

LARGE CRASH IN FOREST RIDGE KILLED 7 PEOPLE.

It was the cliffside road he was all too familiar with. His phone started to ring. Carl’s hands shook as he picked up his phone. A voice buzzed to life on the other line, “Hello? Sir are you a relative of Mollie Colin?”

Carl almost dropped his sandwich, “y-yes I am, I’m her father.”

“I am very sorry, we regret to inform you that she was killed in a recent car crash in Forest Ridge.” Tears streamed down his face.

Carl woke up with a shout, he felt numb. He touched his face; it was slick with sweat and felt smooth. Carl flopped back in the bed and cried fresh tears. Mollie had died again. Suddenly from below he heard a shout.

            “Hey dad, you okay?” Carl almost collapsed in grief, Mollie’s voice sounded the same even though he had just heard she died minutes ago. Carl felt desperation clawing at him to somehow prevent the events from happening again. “Hello? You okay up there? Are you crying?” Mollie’s footsteps could be heard coming up the stairs and she knocked on the door.

            “Oh, no, I’m alright, I . . . tripped on the cords again,” Again he remembered the previous conversation.

“Oh alright. I’m late, but I’m gonna be going to my volleyball match, I’m picking up Carla.” Mollie responded, “I’ll see you later today!”

“No! you’ve got to stay home today!” Carl yelled without thinking.

“What?” Mollie paused, “why? I have to get to the match, everyone’s already waiting.” Carl struggled for an excuse.

“You’ve just gotta stay,” he said again, failing to come up with an appropriate response. He opened the door and came down the stairs. Mollie was waiting with her hand on the door.

“Come on dad! Why? What could be more important, you don’t have work today, I don’t have school, we have no other plans!” Mollie opened the door and started to leave.

“No no no no, you have to stay, you’re going to die, please stay.” Carl said, grabbing her arm.

“What are you saying! Are you really okay? There’re no reasons why I should stay!” Mollie tugged on her arm so forcefully she slipped back on the icy stairs, tumbling down until her head hit the concrete at the bottom with a finishing crack. She was dead.

Carl woke up with a shout. Carl flopped back in the bed and cried again. Mollie had died again. From below he heard a shout. Mollie.

“I’m alright Mollie! Go ahead and get to your volley ball match.”

“Huh? Oh yeah, I didn’t tell you about it yet though,” Mollie said, confused. “Okay, I’ll get going! See you later!”

Again he followed her, all the way until she got to the road again. She died in the car crash again. Again, she dies in the crash. Again, she fell down the stairs. Again, ate bad food and died of food poisoning. Again, she gets a fever of 106 degrees and dies of sickness. Again, she dies in the crash.

He followed again, this time, in the dark the road was empty, no other cars, no traffic. Carl looked around as he turned the corner, in the distance, a truck rolled along. Suddenly Mollie swerved as a small rabbit darted across the road and crashed against the cliffside. But he didn’t wake up, Carl watched as Mollie stumbled out of the car into the road with her phone in hand, and then from behind her came the lone truck, Mollie whipped around, but, too late. The Truck slammed into her. The truck’s headlights were too dim to see by, and Mollie’s car was dark and broken.

Carl woke up with a start, he felt numb. He followed again, this time, in the dark the road was empty, no other cars, no traffic. Carl looked around as he turned the corner, in the distance, the truck rolled along. He glanced back as Mollie swerved to avoid the small rabbit that darted across the road and crashed against the cliffside. Carl jumped in his seat pulling up behind her smoking car. But he didn’t wake up again. She stumbled out of the car and saw Carl sprinting towards her.

“I saw the car from down the road. Are you hurt anywhere else?”

 “N-no, it’s just my head, it’s killing me.”

Carl stayed silent at the comment, and gently pushed her to the car.

“W-w-wait, ughhh . . .” She clutched her head and stood upright. “I need a minute,” Mollie backed away from him, swaying and unsteady.

“I’ll call to get some help, you stay there.”  Carl rushed to get his phone, looking out for the truck with the dimmed headlights. He looked down the road and there it came, Mollie staggered into the road. Filled with panic and adrenaline he ran to Mollie just in time to shove her out of the way. Relief wash over him as she fell out of the way of the truck. Carl watched her fall from the road and in that split second that the truck hit, saw Mollie flying away from the edge of the cliff, a look of surprise and fear on her face as she plummeted to the bottom of the ravine below.